About 35 minutes west of Cedar City, the town of Beryl Junction is located in the southwestern part of Iron County and was named for the junction of two state highways, State Routes 18 and 56. Beryl Junction sits on the southern edge of the Escalante Desert and covers approximately 1.8 square miles. According to historic records, the New Castle Reclamation Company invested in land near the Beryl Crossroads in the Escalante Valley in 1909. Subsequently, that company built a hotel to bring prospective buyers, promoting the land for agricultural development. Despite the failure of the venture, the community has grown slowly since then as modern irrigation techniques have made the farmland productive.